West Orange DL Brendan Flakes enjoys camp experiences, ready for first OV
It's been a busy week for Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange defensive lineman Brendan Flakes, who camped at Miami on Sunday, Florida on Wednesday and then UCF on Thursday. He'll then head out of state for his first official visit.
"I think I did pretty well at the camps," Flakes said. "Miami wants me to come back down for their Paradise Camp. UF said they liked me a lot. UCF as well. I learned some good things, like about flipping your hips and using your back foot to replace your step. All kinds of stuff, like timing. I think with repetitions at each camp you get better, so your confidence goes up. It feels great."
Flakes shined at the UCF camp, earning a spot in the Big Man Final Five.
"The Big Man Final Five is the top five offensive linemen and top five defensive linemen at the camp," Flakes explained. "The o-line and d-line are matched up and you get three reps each. I went 2-1 in my reps."
He enjoyed working with UCF defensive tackles Kenny Martin and defensive ends coach Kenny Ingram.
"(Coach Martin) told me I put in some good work today," Flakes said.
It was a repeat visit for Flakes as he had the full unofficial visit to UCF back on June 5.
"I felt at home, honestly," Flakes said. "Getting to know Coach T-Will, Coach Martin, Coach Ingram, all those guys, it was pretty cool. I really like the family environment. That's what stood out the most to me."
Flakes will take his first official visit this weekend to Marshall. The Thundering Herd were one of his first offers back in February.
"I'm very excited," Flakes said. "I've known the defensive line coach (Ralph Street) there since I was 15 years old. He used to coach at FAMU, so I've been building a relationship with him. I have pretty good ties there. I really like Coach (Charles) Huff and what they're doing up there."
Flakes spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at West Orange and his junior year at Lake Minneola. He will return to West Orange for his senior year.
"I'm very excited about our season coming up," Flakes said. "We've got big aspirations."
